


too many clothes

by misscosmique



Series: steve and his binoculars [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Binoculars, Harringrove, Lifeguard Billy, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 22:06:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19798732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misscosmique/pseuds/misscosmique
Summary: Steve is determined to figure out why Billy is wearing so many goddamn clothes in the middle of summer.( Based on a gifset I made: https://bi-steveharrington.tumblr.com/post/186220350015/au-dustin-is-never-getting-his-binoculars-back )





	too many clothes

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Harringrove fic and I wrote and edited this in less than three hours once inspiration struck. So, I hope you all like it! 
> 
> This was not beta read and if there are any glaring mistakes, let me know :)
> 
> Not season three compliant! Also, Robin and Steve are buds and accidentally took an acid trip together. Billy isn’t a monster and all is good and happy, because I am great at denial. 
> 
> I would love to hear what you guys think of this so comment if you want. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Steve Harrington knew two things for absolute certain when it came to Billy Hargrove:

  1. He packed a mean right hook that left evidence for a few weeks after the initial impact.
  2. He absolutely did _not_ wear shirts that covered his entire chest or biceps unless absolutely necessary, which seemed to be close to never.



The latter was why he was currently sitting behind a bush near his parked car at the Hawkins Community Pool. He had attempted to conceal himself as best he could as to not be spotted by the other teen, but his work uniform didn’t really allow for that. He ditched his sailor hat before hastily leaving Scoops Ahoy, but the sailor outfit obviously didn’t belong behind the bushes at the public pool, making Steve stick out even when he adamantly tried not to.  
  
Robin had been kind enough ~~(easily bribed)~~ to allow him an early exit from scooping cones for children on the condition that he would have to explain what happened when they got home. If he had given her Tammy Thompson’s number for that to happen, well no one needed to know that.  
  
The two had gotten on like a house on fire after they were accidentally drugged during work. Bonding while high was certainly not how Steve thought he’d make his best friend, but it was what happened and he didn’t regret it at all.

With Robin’s desire to explore her sexuality in a safe space and Steve wanting to get out from under his dad’s thumb, they quickly decided that they should move in together. It didn’t take long for the two to find a shifty looking studio, which admittedly was cramped and musty, but it was perfect for the fast friends nonetheless.  
  
Steve had driven Robin to work that morning so he could retrieve something he had forgotten in his work locker. The doors to the mall muffled the sounds of children screaming and teens laughing from the outside, but once they were opened it was near impossible to ignore. It was also difficult to overlook the long line of children waiting for the ice cream shop to open. Robin was working first shift and Steve wasn’t nearly mean, or busy enough to allow her to deal with this rush of people alone. He grabbed his uniform from his locker and rushed to put it on before heading out to help Robin.

He opened the door with his hip so he could adjust his sailor hat. He despised the thing; it hid his hair which Robin sarcastically called his best feature while he genuinely did believe that to be true. His hair could get him any girl he wanted. Or at least it used to.   
  
Steve walked up to the counter and went to grab his handy dandy scooper. He motioned unaware, for the next in line to approach his side of the counter. “Welcome to Scoops Ahoy,” he started before looking up and realizing the customer was Billy. He was wearing a thick white lifeguard shirt and a pair of jeans.  
  
Steve paused, taking in the fact that Billy had a light sheen of sweat coating his forehead and a faint blush highlighting his cheekbones.  
  
“You alright, Hargrove?”  
  
“Fine. Need cold. Burning up.” Billy’s short and cut off sentences confused Steve, but not much about the other boy didn’t.  
  
Ever since the Hargrove’s has moved into town, Steve found himself enamored by the mystery that is Billy Hargrove.   
  
The Hargrove children had a way of infiltrating Hawkins like no others, leaving people curious. The youngest, Max, quickly got invited into the Party within the first few days of arriving (though this was also partly because Lucas and Dustin thought she was _pretty_ .)  
  
Billy, in turn, infiltrated his way into the mind of Steve Harrington.  
  
At first it was mild interest. New people in a town the size of Hawkins made their way onto everyone's radar. Steve was especially alert to the way curiosity bubbled beneath the surface. He had a strong desire to discover the world and all it had to offer but the small town didn’t allow much discovering to be had - save for the gaping hole that led to another dimension. So when new people came to town he was always intrigued. 

The curiosity progressed to angry thoughts when he was, once again, beat up by a boy his age. That fury had died down weeks after when Billy apologized. Now his attention to him was for an unknown reason.  
  
He was pulled back to attention by Robin’s sharp nudge to his shin coupled with, “Hey, dufus! Care to help me?” Steve rolled his eyes but asked Billy for his order.   
  
“A vanilla cone, one scoop.”  
  
Steve rung him up after handing him his ice cream, watching as Billy’s jeans left the store. Well, Billy was inside the jeans and perhaps he was staring at Billy’s ass when he walked out the door, but Steve was quite good at denial. 

After the rush died down and there was a single person left Steve started tapping his fingers on the counter, trying to fein patience.  
  
Robin assisted the final customer and started mumbling every few seconds under her breath; Steve couldn’t hear what she was saying but it sounded like she was saying his name. When the final kid left, Robin jabbed him in the stomach with a firm, “You’re annoying me, Steve.”  
  
Steven ignored her, finally letting his curiosity get the best of him. He quickly blurted: “I’ll give you Tammy’s number if you cover for me.”  
  
“You’re not even supposed to be here but yeah, I’ll take her number,” Robin laughed and gave him a mock salute. Steve dropped his hat on the back counter and gave her a thumbs up, “I’ll be back after your shift ends to pick you up and we can go to the store to get stuff to stock the fridge.”  
  
Robin hummed in agreement and started digging through her bag for a book.  
  
Steve didn’t know where Billy was heading after he bought a cone, but looking like he did concerned him. He needed to figure out if the other was okay or he wasn’t going to be able to move about his day as normal. The sweaty, flushed face was worrying, but the amount of clothes Billy was wearing was the true source of Steve’s unease.  
  
Never had he seen the younger teen wear that much of a shirt. Not that he was complaining. Billy had a nice physique and was ~~(objectively)~~ extremely handsome.  
  
Pushing away that thought he hurriedly walked towards his car and started the engine. He didn’t know if Billy was working today, but a few weeks ago he had heard from Dustin, who heard from Lucas, who was told by Max that he got a job at the local pool.   
  
He turned his car in the direction of the pool and started driving. He figured if he wasn’t there he could try the Hargrove residence, but this was a good start. He was familiar with the community pool from seeing it in passing, but he had never actually used it since he was raised with a private pool in his backyard.  
  
Which brings him to where he is now: sitting behind the bushes with a pair of binoculars he still had from Dustin when the tween was convinced the town was too quiet, looking through them at Billy sitting on the elevated tower.  
  
He was holding a drink - a Slurpee that was dripping with condensation. The warm air mixing with the cool drink created drops which were racing down the side until they fell onto Billy’s still covered legs. The jeans were gone but a pair of bright red shorts were barely visible since they were being covered by a white towel. He was still in the same long, white shirt as before.  
  
He is more sweaty than earlier, even while he sits under the shade of the umbrella. Probably because he was under _so many_ layers in the humidity.  
  
Billy seemed to do a scan of the pool, letting his gaze wander to the surrounding area on the other side of the fence. It almost seems like he - oh shit! Billy’s eyes definitely paused on the bushes, or possibly the area near the bushes, hopefully someone else was making a fool of themselves and not just Steve?  
  
Steve hurried to sit completely on the ground, letting his binoculars fall into his lap. His heart raced and he could feel his cheeks warming. Why was he so nervous all of the sudden?  
  
He breathed out deeply, trying to calm his nerves so he could return to his previous position and get to the bottom of Billy’s clothing situation.   
  
Steve felt his heartbeat return to normal after a few moments and he lifted himself up to a crouch and turned around to begin observing again.  
  
With his binoculars once again glued to his eyes, he glanced toward the lifeguard chair. Upon finding it empty, save for Heather climbing the steps to the seat, his mouth turned into a frown. He did a passing glance across the crowd; the pool showed no sign of Billy, neither did the chairs, nor the lockers near the entrance.  
  
Steve began working on another scan to ensure he didn’t miss the boy in question, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around, binoculars still on his face. He dropped them from his face to clutch them in his hands so he could inspect who it was that touched him. He flushed when his brain caught up to the fact that the man in front of him was the one he was searching for just seconds ago.  
  
“Oh he-ey, Billy. Fancy seeing you here,” Steve smiled awkwardly, trying to pass off as innocent. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he was acting a little suspicious.   
  
Billy‘s glasses started slipping down his nose, the sweat on his face working against their position, and he made no move to push them back in place, instead opting to squint as the sun blasted him in the face. “Yeah, real odd considering this is where I work.”  
  
Steve scrunched his nose and opened and closed his mouth before deciding to keep it shut. He didn’t know what to say.  
  
Since the fall, the two hadn’t gotten closer. Billy had, however, apologized for what he did and it seemed heartfelt and honest. He also had made an effort to be kinder to him and Lucas and the rest of the Party in general. Still, Steve didn’t want to exasperate Billy any more than he had seemed today.  
  
Billy realized that Steve wasn’t going to speak up, so he barreled on, “I recognized your car, Harrington. The Beemer isn’t exactly discreet. Plus, you’re still in that adorable outfit I was graced with seeing earlier and I wouldn’t miss a chance to see that in action.”  
  
Steve felt a blush rise to his cheeks as he side eyed his car, his brows furrowing together slightly. His focus snapped back to Billy when he spoke again, “So, is there any reason you’re here? With,” he paused and pointed to the black binoculars in Steve’s right hand, “a pair of binoculars? If I wasn’t so sure you were looking at me, I’d be concerned about the children in their suits.”  
  
“Uh,” he stammered as he tried to think of an excuse that wouldn’t make him look like a creep, but he’d rather be thought of as a creeper than a pervert, “Truthfully, I don’t know. You surprised me at Scoops and I was worried about you I guess.” He scratches his neck idly with his left hand and toyed with a strand of hair near his shoulders.  
  
Billy seemed distracted by the movement, “Pretty boy like yourself was worried about little ole me? Why?”  
  
Without thinking he said in an exasperated tone, his hand dropping to his side, “You rarely wear the amount of clothes as you did earlier. Let alone now in the _sun_.” He stressed the final word and pointed to the sky for even more emphasis. “You usually have most of your chest out or if that’s covered, at least your arms are showing. Call me crazy, but a dramatic shift like that is concerning.”  
  
“What are you doing paying attention to me like that, pretty boy?” Billy had a grin on his face and waggled his tongue like he had so many other times in the past. Steve tracked the movement and found himself mesmerized by the way it worked on his lips. A fleeting thought to how it would feel against his own passed through his mind.  
  
Steve blinked hard to bring himself out of his brain and back to reality. He ignored his question and continued, “I wanted to check in, I guess. Well, check in without, ya know, checking in considering we aren’t that close.”  
  
Billy’s features softened and his grin faded into a true smile, which sparked a small smile on Steve’s face. A real smile was rarely planted on Billy’s face and the fact that Steve put it there radiated a ping of joy throughout his chest.  
  
“Thanks,” Billy muttered in a soft tone, “I appreciate that. Don’t have many people around this place willing to go to that length to check in on me, even if it _is_ a little weird.” Billy took a step toward Steve, seemingly unknowingly, his eyes never leaving the others.  
  
The two were less than a foot apart when Billy stilled again. The sudden closeness between them made it quite obvious to Steve how flushed and clammy the younger teen was. His smile morphed to a small frown and Steve raised his hand up to Billy’s forehead, the back of it resting on it for a moment.  
  
“You have a fever,” Steve whispered, letting his hand drag down to the other’s cheek where he allowed himself to let it rest.  
  
He could hear a subtle gasp make its way out of Billy's throat. “And you’re clammy. Are you feeling cold?”  
  
Steve couldn’t tell if Billy didn’t trust his voice or if he just was too stunned to speak. He cleared his throat and spoke after a few seconds, sounding slightly raspy and out of work, “I keep going from freezing to overheated.”  
  
Steve smiles, not moving his hand off the boy, “Explains the shirt.”  
  
Billy leaned into the touch as he smiled, probably feeling woozy from the combination of his fever and the burning sun. “I’m starting to get the feeling that you enjoy me best when you can see the most of my skin as possible “  
  
Steve felt the blush on his cheeks darken, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel embarrassed about it. Instead, he felt that maybe this intimate moment was a time he could be vulnerable with the other he’s watched from afar for weeks without really knowing why. Until now. “I do.”  
  
Billy sighed, a grin widening on his face, “Oh, pretty boy. If we weren’t in public I’d kiss you for that.”  
  
Steve shook his head and laughed. He didn’t know, but that sound caused Billy’s stomach to drop; what he did notice was a frown to appear on his face as he tried to back away from Steve’s touch. Steve moved his hand from his cheek to the back of his neck to keep him in place. “Not _until_ we get you feeling better. Can’t have me getting sick when you need to be taken care of.”  
  
“But after that?” Billy’s voice was small, like he was worried about what Steve would say.  
  
“Well, I do have an apartment with quite an understanding roommate. How about you come back to my place and I help you get better. Then we can see what happens from there.”  
  
Billy smiled once again and nodded, “I’d like that a lot, Steve”  
  
Steve’s stomach fluttered at Billy calling him by his first name. It was the first time he’s used it since he apologized all those months ago. “Okay Billy. Let’s get you home.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm working on part two where Steve takes care of Billy! Also, follow me on tumblr if ya want to @ bi-steveharrington.tumblr.com


End file.
